


Lila's Life: Sonic Adventure 2

by pandrena



Series: Lila's Life [1]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fan Characters, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-20
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2020-10-24 20:54:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20712374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pandrena/pseuds/pandrena
Summary: A retelling of Sonic Adventure 2, primarily from the point of view of the journalist who framed Sonic for Shadow's stealing of the Chaos Emerald. When she gets wrapped up in the action, though, she finds money and fame isn't all that it's cracked up to be when its made from hurting others.This is part one of a series that will span the majority of the Sonic video game timeline, up to Forces.





	1. The Journalist Consequences

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the first chapter of a story I've been wanting to write for a while. Please be gentle, as I'm more of an artist than a writer, but I'm having fun with this nonetheless! It features a character I've had since I was like 11 lol. She's a very terrible journalist.

_ **Blue Blur Found Guilty!** _

By Lila the Cat

_ "It’s not true,” cried a particularly frantic Amy Rose as the cameras flashed around her and permanently caught her shocked face on film, “Sonic would never do something like that! He would never steal a Chaos Emerald! Or anything, for that matter! Sonic is a hero!” _

_ We all thought that too, Miss Rose, until this morning._

_ Last night, around XX:XX, a tragedy struck the local City Bank! The only thing stolen was a Chaos Emerald. No one was injured, as the security guards had fallen asleep at their posts when it happened. They were awoken by the sound of shattering glass._

_ Thanks to highly advanced security cameras, police found that Sonic the Hedgehog, known blue spirit of freedom and justice, was the culprit. Despite his and his friends’ protests, the resemblance to the footage is undeniable._

_ Sonic’s self-proclaimed best friend, Miles “Tails” Prower, had this to say: “You guys are wrong! This doesn’t make sense at all! I know Sonic is innocent!” On the other hand, Knuckles the Echidna could not be reached for comment due to the fact he lives on a floating island. This is probably for the best._

_ Sonic is currently on the run from G.U.N agents, and anyone with information on the speedy blur’s whereabouts should contact the police at the number XXX-XXX-XXXX. Make sure you call fast, because this criminal can move fast!!_

“

...Well, that was certainly dramatic! Satisfying, but dramatic. Nice ending, a little humorous...yeah! that’s good! Particularly, she was pretty proud of that Knuckles joke.

Settling into a comfortable reclining chair, a lilac-furred oriental short-hair relaxed with a newspaper in hand, and a smile on her face. This was going a lot smoother than she’d expected. You’d think people would be upset, but as it turns out, telling the public their hero is a sham gets a pretty juicy story going! No matter how many times Sonic had saved Station Square and other areas of the planet from Eggman, people ate this “surprise villain” stuff right up, and that was fine for her.

After all, what’s a story without a little drama? Lila the Cat knew that an enticing story was the key to making it big as a journalist, so this was her big break! When she’d missed all that Chaos stuff a year ago, with the city being flooded and all, it’d been a bummer! Now, a robbery had happened right near her house, and had a famous culprit! Thanks to her sister for calling her that morning to check on her, she’d grabbed the details faster than anyone else. It helped nobody else wanted to frame Sonic for a heinous crime, though...Figuring he was probably innocent...And the footage didn’t actually look like him too much...

Although, if she was honest, thinking of it that way made her feel like a bad guy. That wasn’t fun! She was no bad guy, she was just a cat of fourteen trying to make a living, which made putting the blame on Sonic all too okay!...Right? Even if it was a lie in the end, and Sonic was wrongly accused like his friends had claimed...That wasn’t her problem, was it? Chuckling awkwardly to herself, she put the newspaper down.

This was her first publication ever, so she had been nervous. She didn’t need to bring all that anxiety and apprehension back by wondering if what she did was “right” or not. Scratching her ear as if to comfort herself, she got up from her chair and moved to sharpen some coffee and make some pencils...Wait. No, it was the other way around...Maybe anxiety was unavoidable right now. Nothing a little vanilla creamer couldn’t fix!

Humming lightly, she walked into her kitchen. It was small, but she didn’t mind, since it was just her living there. Plus, even with how small it was, it was hard to keep clean (moral of the story: don’t paint your kitchen counters white and make spaghetti on them,) and she was lazy. For the time being she opened a wooden cabinet and pulled out some sugar, creamer, and of course a small instant coffee cup.

She heard the wind pick up outside, though, and huffed. Maybe there was a storm coming...Oh well. She wasn’t planning on going anywhere else today anyway. She had been out and about since before the sun even came up! Putting on her coffee machine to brew an 8 oz cup, she also shut her kitchen window. Just because a little rain was hitting the city didn’t mean it had to hit her parade!...Or something like that. Whatever, the windows were shut now...She needed coffee, desperately.

Lila wasn’t really sure if it was a storm, though. Come to think of it – hadn’t the weather proclaimed sunny skies all day? Frowning, she wondered if she should try a different weather app…

The drizzling of the coffee made her look at the machine – Oh, great Mobian God, she hadn’t put a cup there! Frantically, she ran to her cupboard, and shoved a very unfortunately shaped mug underneath the machine to catch the rest of the coffee. It was “unfortunately” shaped because it was a Sonic mug. After the whole thing with Chaos, he’d become kind of a brand name, and this was a gift from her sister. This wasn’t good for her in terms of distracting herself, was it? She rubbed her temple, getting a headache.

Why’d her sister have to gift her such a dumb mug, anyway? Lila figured it was to make up for the fact she had been in Chun Nan, her hometown, and missed all the excitement that her sister and mother got to see….But she frowned at this, remembering that Sonic had indeed saved her sister and mother. Personally, she’d heard, when they were stuck in a flooded building. He’d rescued them, and...Lila supposed she forgot about that just a little.

Oh well. What was done was done. She really had to stop thinking about this, or she’d lose her appetite AND her inspiration. Neither which she wanted to lose.

The cat’s ear twitched. Was that wind getting louder? Nervously, Lila looked to the window. There was a big tree by her apartment….It was kind of slanted, because the ground was very downhill in how they’d built the city. This made her apartment a bit awkwardly raised too, but she’d never thought about it much. She chose again to ignore the weather, though. She was stressed enough as it was, and she didn’t need her fear of thunder getting in the way. She wasn’t Sonic, so she wasn’t fearless! Ah, there she goes thinking about Sonic again. Awful…

Taking her coffee now, she returned to her chair in the den. It was opened to the kitchen, so she could keep a small eye on the wind situation in case it got bad. For now, she decided to read over her article again.

At least, that was her plan before her phone began to vibrate...Rosi? She really didn’t feel like talking to her right now...But also, she felt bad ignoring her sister’s call. Not wanting to add anymore negative feelings to the table, she answered.

“Hi Rosi. What’s up?”

“Don’t ‘what’s up’ me! You know what’s up, young lady!”

“I take it you read the article.” Lila sighed, “Listen, I already -”

“Did you forget he saved mom and me?!”

So much for the whole ‘no more negative feelings’ thing. “I’m drinking from the cup you got me after that, so yeah, I remember.”

“Lila, of all the dishonest things I thought you would write about in your journalist career...I didn’t think the first one would be this! Don’t you see what you’ve done?!”

“I already feel bad about it, OK?” She frowned.

“Then do something to fix it!”

Tensing, she grit her teeth. “I can’t do that! I’ll be fired if I...They won’t pay me!”

“Is money all you think about?!”

“I live on my own, Rosi. I have to support myself somehow...”

“So do it without hurting other people!”

“But I...Rosi...”

“No buts! Fix this, or else I-”

_ Click._ Lila hung up, uninterested in hearing the threat. Rubbing her head again, she put her phone on silent and put it face down, so she couldn’t see the screen light up. She already felt regret, especially with her sister mad at her, but there was no way to fix it. No matter what she did, the newspapers had been sent out and received by everyone in the city already! It’s not like she could go back in time, or…

She jumped to her feet. “That’s it!” she exclaimed loudly, “I’ll go back in time!”

_ ** CRASH!** _

Almost as soon as she said that, any other thoughts to explain this crazy idea were all thrown out the window...Because her window broke. She screamed, thankful to be far enough away that no shards hit her, but began coughing from debris too – choking a bit.

“Sorry about that!”

That voice…

The clouds of dirt and dust settled and revealed a figure. None other than a particular blue hedgehog. He looked a bit shaken, but quickly jumped to his feet and brushed himself off. “I was skatin’ down and I guess I missed that turn!”

“Wha…?” Lila coughed, waving her hand to get a clearer view (and some clearer lungs). “S…Sonic?!”

“You okay, Miss?” He was suddenly in front of her, helping her wave the clouds away. “I didn’t mean to burst in so rudely, I…”

There was a beeping, and Sonic glanced behind him. A flying G.U.N robot was in the hole now, readying an attack. “Whoops, no time to chat! Come on!” Just like that, Sonic lifted her up, and they were out the door before the blast hit, shattering her favorite chair, and leaving remains of that now-broken Sonic novelty mug.

…………..

………………….

…………………….

“I can’t believe Shadow did it! He stole an Emerald!”

The doctor’s cackling echoed through his pyramid’s secret base, the golden sandy walls dribbling debris with the disruptive noise. 13:27 was the time about, as a rotund man stood in front of a computer and multiple holographic screens. Twirling his mustache, he looked quite pleased!

“His power is unbelievable! Although, not to take credit away where it’s due...” He snorted, peeking at the newspaper in his hand. “This journalist was foolish enough to accuse him! Lila the Cat...I’ll have to remember to thank her personally when I rule the world.”

Though such wouldn’t be as easy as he thought – oh, who was he kidding with such a pessimistic outlook? Sonic was busy running from the law, his friends were a wreck, and he had the Ultimate Lifeform on his side! Nothing could stop his plans this time. It’d been less than 23 hours, and this was going smoothly. Usually, he’d have failed by now.

Although he did wonder what Shadow needed an Emerald for...Or why he wanted to meet on the Space Colony ARK. Well, no time to waste. He’d just have to deal with that now. Tapping in a particular password, the Doctor continued on his way...With a flash, he was gone to place thought abandoned for over 50 years.


	2. Not Exactly a City Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lila finds herself in a bit of a...spiky situation, shall we say, when Sonic the Hedgehog himself is making his escape through the city. She has places to go, and has to follow his rainbow! Take his hand and - okay, enough jokes. This is getting serious, because she's about to learn the real culprit!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I apparently had this written since like. The last chapter was posted, and entirely forgot to upload it. Whoops. Well! Here it is! Enjoy!

Well, THIS she hadn’t counted on. Sure, it was every kid’s dream to be swept up by a hero on a shining horse and carried to safety. But Lila’s dream was more along the lines of “swept up by a crowd, hoisted onto their shoulders, and carried off to publicity city.” What nobody really dreamed of was being carried awkwardly by a blue hedgehog not on a horse, directly into further danger. Well, maybe Amy Rose fantasied about that, but nobody else.

Oh man, if only Amy had been there to see it! Lila would’ve gladly traded places with that pink, hotheaded girl, actually, and been on her own merry way far from Sonic...But instead, the wind was in her hair, her heart was pounding...And contrary to what you might think, she was feeling anything but alive.

But there was no getting around this, was there? She went over the events of what had just happened...She’d just reported Sonic the Hedgehog as the Chaos Emerald thief, and then he’d come crashing in through her window! To make matters worse, they were now being trailed by countless G.U.N robots. Hoo boy…How was she gonna get out of this?

“P-put me down!” No good, she didn’t sound confident enough – and she wasn’t loud enough to yell over the wind in her and Sonic’s ears. 

“Sorry, what was that?” He called back.

“I said to – _AAH!_” He just HAD to hop onto that railing right now, didn’t he?! 

“Relax, I got you! Nothin’ to worry about!”

“Th-that’s not the issue here!” And there was plenty to be worried about! She was starting to get dizzy. Up a ledge, down the ledge, off a rail, on a rail, up, down, all around~! It was too much, and she was frankly feeling woozy. “S-Stop running for a second, Sonic! I SAID STOP!”

Once more, her voice was drowned out – this time by a loud blast that hit next to them. “Whoa! Hold on!” _Like she had a choice…_

She chose to just close her eyes after a while. You couldn’t get motion sickness from what you couldn’t see, right? Wrong, kinda. The bumps without knowing what they were didn’t make her sick, but it certainly terrified her, and she ended up looking at everything anyway...Which just led back to feeling woozy again! Finally, she had to do something.

With a move reminiscent of a child who didn’t want to leave somewhere and was being dragged away, she reached her hand out and hoped to grab onto something – and she did! Her arm nearly got pulled off when Sonic took a second to realize he was stopped, but then he paused, and looked back at her. “Hey, what gives?”

“Do you EVER run out of breath?!”

“Not really, no, why?” Clearly. Next, he asked something she really hadn’t expected so suddenly - “Well, where are we? Somewhere in the city, I know that much...”

Lila stared. “Have you just been running aimlessly?” She asked after a moment, dumbfounded. Was this guy serious? He was only a year older than her, but at least 6 inches taller – which in Mobian terms made quite a difference….He looked like he was lost in a dream. Was this really who she’d turned in?! He didn’t seem concerned at all about his situation.

“I wouldn’t say aimlessly,” He laughed, “Simply put, I just follow my rainbow.” Rainbow...The heck was that supposed to mean?! Noticing her confusion (finally), he smiled. “Don’t you ever go where the wind takes you? Though in my case,” Now he pursed his lips, “I’ve been avoiding G.U.N all day. Turns out someone’s got it out for me. So I guess my main goal is getting out of here.”

Her heart dropped. Like, into her stomach kind of dropped. “_Uh_...Really?” How was she supposed to react to that?!

“Yeah, oh well!” Sonic grinned again, “Though frankly,” He wagged his finger a bit, “I think I have a pretty good idea who’s behind it.”

“Y...You do? Who is it?” Lila’s ears perked up. Was there actually more story to this than she’d reported…? _Or,_ she thought as her ears drooped again, _has he figured out I’m the journalist who framed him like an accusatory idiot?_

The hedgehog winked. “Sorry! That’s classified for right now.”

So he was the teasing, joking type. Great. “What do you -” she started, but with that, Sonic jumped up, and lifted her along, because the enemy had caught up to them. 

“No time to chat, Miss! We gotta keep goin’!”

And just like that, they were going through the city again at a rapid, sickening pace.

…………………….  
……………………………  
…………………………………...

  
“I don’t understand it!” huffed Amy, crossing her arms. “We have to prove Sonic’s innocence! If he goes to jail, then….then…!”

“Then Eggman wins,” finished Tails, who was rolled underneath the Tornado with a wrench in hand. They were at his house in Emerald Town, currently, with Tails doing some basic repairs for a reason Amy hadn’t paid attention to.

“Worse!” Amy cried, “Then I can’t marry him!” Her eyes watered a bit, lip quivering. “Oh, Sonic…! I miss him already!”

Tails sighed, sliding out just enough to peer at Amy. “It’s all right, Amy. We’ll get him back.”

“Ohhh, I hope so!” She was clearly panicked, and Tails could tell...But was there any getting around it at this point? Sonic was running from the military, after all...That was kind of a big deal, and definitely cause for alarm and concern. “Oh, I’ll bet Eggman is behind this...He always is!”

“Probably,” admitted the fox, sliding back underneath his plane and beginning to tinker again, “But we can’t just accuse anyone without proof – even Eggman.”

“Why not?” Amy huffed, stomping her foot lightly. “I don’t see why he should get any excuse! He should be in jail, not Sonic! We all know that!”

“It’s because Eggman always breaks out of any prison we put him in.”

“Hmph!” She crossed her arms, ears pinned back.

“I’m upset too, Amy, but that’s why we’re here in the first place. Why I’m fixing up the tornado, even! We’re going to figure out who REALLY stole that Emerald.”

“And how are we going to do that when you’re fixing up your dumb airplane?!”

“I-it’s not dumb! And I told you why -”

“Fine!” Amy rolled her eyes. “YOU can play with your toys, but I’m going to investigate!”

“Amy, wait!” Tails tried to roll out again, but hit his head. “Ow!” By the time he’d gotten out, Amy was already rushing out the door, much to his dismay. “Amy…!”

Rubbing his sore head, Tails frowned. “I don’t know how Sonic deals with her...” He shook his head, and his eyes peered over to the newspaper on his workshop table…He scowled for a moment, thinking about how the writer, some girl named Lila, had dubbed him Sonic’s “self proclaimed” best friend...What baloney! 

Still...Lila the Cat...Earlier that day, she’d come rushing into his house demanding ‘facts’ about Sonic’s criminal record. Which there was none, since Sonic was no criminal! But she’d been so pushy and excited...Wherever she was, he sarcastically muttered that that he hoped she was happy with all this.

It was sure clear nobody else was.

…………………….  
……………………………  
…………………………………...

As it ends up, neither was Lila. The sun was starting to go down, and Lila was still stuck running around with Sonic...

“Who,” she panted, “would have the crazy enough mind to send a huge truck down a street?! Do they know how much property damage that probably did?! How many cars it flattened?! And then to send a big ol’ militant flying Big Foot thing! What is G.U.N thinking?!”

“Wish I knew,” mused Sonic, sitting on a large wooden crate. There had been several others around prior to the fight that just took place, but now the majority were shattered and splintered...“Frankly, I don’t get it either. But that’s just how they roll, I guess.” He shrugged. “Anyway...Sorry to keep dragging you with me, Miss.”

Lila tried to catch her breath, leaned over and holding her knees, ears flattened and tail limp. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Not like I have anything ELSE to do...Since that robot destroyed my apartment!”

“Ah, right.” Sonic gave an awkward laugh. “I’m sure they’ll compensate somehow...You know. Eventually!”

“Eventually...” Lila didn’t have time to wait for EVENTUALLY….She needed another column due TOMORROW! How was she supposed to do that now?! Putting her hands on her hips, she glanced around. “Well That’s great. What now?”

“Now,” He hopped off the crate, “You go find somewhere safe in the city. If you have relatives, I’d recommend staying with them until all this blows over...”

“Eh? You can’t expect me to walk all the way back!” Lila’s eyes widened. “It took us all day to get here! At YOUR speed! How am I supposed to go home before morning?!” Falling to her knees, she was starting to accept defeat. “That’s it. I’m done.”

He hopped off the box, walking over. “Done? C’mon...You can’t give up just like that!”

“Nope, this feline is finished.” She sighed. “My apartment is gone. My reputation is kaput. My sister won’t let me near her after that article...”

“...Article?”

Oh, crud. Had she said that out loud?! Now she REALLY looked defeated, and Sonic looked very curious...”You don’t mean the one about me, do you? Why’s that matter to your family, exactly?”

“Um...” She looked down. “...I guess now is as better time to tell you as ever, huh? Before we get too involved…” Her heart began racing again. Her mind raced, too, for an excuse, but there probably was none…

But then an excuse appeared in a very unlikely way. “...Hold that confessional thought. We’ve got company.”

Sonic’s interruption caught her off guard. She glanced around frantically, looking for more robots they’d have to fight...Before her eyes finally settled on a new figure, sitting on top of the now-destroyed Big Foot. A glimmer of green caught her eye. 

The Chaos Emerald?!

But the figure as he stood caught even more of her eye….As her mind went back to those security cameras’ footage...Back to the investigation as a whole, finding someone just barely recognizable as “Sonic”...As her heart stopped entirely, realizing it’d never been Sonic at all! Though she’d probably assumed that by now, it was proven right now! The real culprit was right in front of her!

“It all starts with this,” His voice was smooth, and quiet – almost a whisper, “A gem containing the ultimate power...”

Sonic stepped forward. “I see what’s going on here! The military has mistaken me for the likes of you!”

The blue blur charged, but the other hedgehog, black as night, was faster. In a green flash, and a shout of something Lila didn’t quite catch, he’d rushed past Sonic. He’d rushed past Lila, but...Lila didn’t feel the wind. No blast of air from a fast force like Sonic's – no, this was…This was more like teleporting.

“It’s not speed! You’re using the Chaos Emerald to warp!” Despite the severity of the situation, these were good quotes, and Lila wished she’d had paper and a pencil on her to write it all down. But she shook her head. This was no time for thinking about her journalism career!

Or maybe it was! If she could catch that black hedgehog...She could prove Sonic’s innocence, AND have a new juicy story to tell!...Unfortunately, she had no idea how she was supposed to do that. After all, she couldn’t fight. She couldn’t even run very fast, either! She had no special ability to stop this other hog...But...That emerald...Was he using it to stop time or something?

Her mind went back to her early declaration of ‘going back in time’...And while she was lost in thought, the story continued rapidly – ending with police bots and search lights suddenly aiming for Sonic...and her too.

“Put your hands up!” Shouted a voice, making her freeze up. And then, panicked, she glanced around. The black hedgehog was gone. Her last chance was gone! She had no way to save her OR Sonic’s skin!...

Oh, and she was probably under arrest for helping him, too.


	3. Who You Gonna Call?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lila chooses a very unlikely source to help her out after Sonic is captured by G.U.N...But first, she has to prove she's not doing this for her own gain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was VERY fun to write, even if it's not the best. I hope you guys get laughs out of it like I did.

A year ago during Chaos’ attack, Lila could recall the fear she felt. She had been in Chun Nan, studying to become a journalist, so she had been out of harm’s way. But she’d seen the television reports. She’d seen pictures of the damage, the flooding and...well..the chaos. The utter _discord_….And she remembered seeing Sonic win in a flash of gold…

More than that, she remembered hearing how he’d saved her sister and mother from a trapped building after the fight...And after the incident, she cursed herself for not being stronger; for not being more significant in a time of terror. For not being able to DO anything... For some reason, she wondered if having been there would’ve made a difference...And considered it a sort of divine punishment that she wasn’t. That’s probably why she was so eager to make it big...

But yeah, so, as it turns out: watching that same heroic blue hedgehog get dragged off was going to be far worse a punishment than anything she’d experienced so far. Honestly, she’d rather have been arrested. But she wasn’t. No, she had to watch in silence as G.U.N focused solely on Sonic and...Ugh. The amount of restraints they’d probably need in the prison; nothing was logically going to keep this guy.

At least. Lila hoped nothing would keep him. Her guilt, already overflowing, wouldn’t be able to handle it. More than anything, she probably would feel guilt at sitting there totally helpless while an innocent man got dragged off because of her lies….Well, actually, he wasn’t being dragged at all.

Standing in front of Lila with his arm outstretched, Sonic gave the first apprehensive look she’d seen him have since she met him – and she realized he was shielding her. “All right, all right, you caught me,” he’d chuckle to the police, looking much more tense than before. But it was more likely because of the black hedgehog than it was this situation. “But leave the little lady alone, will you? She didn’t do anything.”

Even now he was being a hero. Even now his own safety and freedom wasn’t his priority. Was there really nothing she could do to undo what she’d done to him? Also, she’d done quite a bit…

“W-wait, uh, Sonic...” The words left her mouth, but were cut off by Sonic himself.

“Hey, don’t worry about me.” The blue hog looked back at her with a smile. “I’ve gotten out of bigger struggles than this. You take care of yourself.”

“B-but...”

There was no time for her to explain or apologize now. But was she really going to let this happen? Right in front of her? She didn’t know how she could stop it when she had no proof to discredit her own original evidence – the footage on the security cameras, that is...Even if they obviously showed someone other than Sonic…

Just who was that black hedgehog? Just what was his goal? What was he doing with the chaos emerald…? She brought a hand to her head. Her eyes were getting blurry, and her conscious was fading into lightheaded territory as Sonic walked off in handcuffs...This couldn’t be how it ended. No...This...

This wasn’t going to be how it ended. This was only going to be how it started, and as Sonic climbed into a helicopter that had dropped in to pick him up, he would catch sight of Lila one last time – and her expression wasn’t quite as scared as before. Nowhere near.

It might’ve been a bit too confident for even his taste, though.

……………………..

…………………………………………….

………………………………………………………

See, the thing is that to be a reporter you had to be obnoxious. There was no getting around it. If you wanted to get information out of people, you had to be able to harass said people. And certainly, Lila had that down pat. But if you’re too obnoxious, you get into a corner of your own downfall...At least until someone just as obnoxious as you comes along...Or until you seek that person out. Three people, actually, in Lila’s case.

Knocking on the door of a run-down looking building, she was about to solve at least one of her problems if it killed her. Despite the news labeling Sonic as a criminal AND as a kidnapper because of her, she knew one group who couldn’t deny his innocence...And they were on the other side of this door!

...Except there was no answer. She huffed, and knocked louder...”Hello?”

And when there was still nothing, she began to get annoyed. “Hellooooooooooooooo?! Do I have to break down this door?! I will! Don’t try me!”

Still nothing. Hissing, she kicked the door. This was no time for delays! She had stuff to do! “You guys call yourself a detective agency?! You aren’t even available twenty four seven!”

From inside, she heard a grumbled noise...And a very tall crocodile opened the door. “Whuzzat? You gotta be kiddin’ me...It’s two in the morning...”

“THERE you are, Vector!”

“Wha? Do I know ya or somethin’, Miss?”

Lila scowled. “Put on your porch light, bub.” This half-asleep crocodile chose to do that, and...His eyes went bugged. Before he could scream and slam the door, Lila pounced. “You’re not getting away this time, green bean! You owe me a favor, and I’m coming to collect it! No excuses!”

“All right, all RIGHT….” Vector was basically crying “Uncle,”, tackled to the floor as Lila’s claws sunk into his poor back. “Put yer claws away, will ya?!”

“What’s goin’ on? What’s goin on’?” There’s Charmy Bee, right on cue. “Oh, hi Miss Lila!”

“Hi Charmy,” Lila smiled now, jumping off of Vector, “Sorry to disturb your bedtime...”

“Oh, that’s fine! What’s with Vector?” He peered around to see the large mobian standing up. “Vector, you’re gonna wake the whole apartment if you go thumping around like that!”

“Can it, Charmy.” huffed Vector, who looked to Lila. “Could ya possibly choose a worse time to get a favor? We were sleepin’!” This was certainly a scene she’d caused and at a certainly terrible hour, but that was kind of her style anyway.

“Yeah, well...” Lila frowned now, crossing her arms. “It’s kinda an emergency. I didn’t know who else to go to...”

“An emergency?” Charmy looked rather excited despite the potential severity of an ‘emergency’. “Does this mean we have a job?”

“Indeed you do. First off – you guys read the paper today, right?”

“Who reads newspapers anymore?” mumbled the small bee. Lila shot him a less than pleasant glare, and he paused, “Ah, right! You’re a journalist...Sorry...Espio reads it, too.”

“Anyway,” Lila continued without comment on that, “I sorta made a really dumb article, and I regret it, and long story short I need you to help me write one that contradicts my first one with better findings.”

“Whoa,” Vector shook his head, “Slow down-”

“What part of ‘emergency’ don’t you get?” Lila turned to Vector. “This is crucial to Sonic’s safety! I really hurt him, and I need to -”

“Sonic? Sonic the Hedgehog?” Charmy buzzed with no pun intended, “You know Sonic?”

“Sorta met him today, yeah. But -”

“Can you get me an autograph? I have this cool plastic chili-dog I’d like him to sign-”

“No!! Not while he’s in prison!!”

A silence. Vector opened his mouth, but of course Charmy was faster. “He’s in juvie?!”

And that’s sort of how the story got out. Lila proceeded to explain the situation, with constant interruptions from Charmy and Vector telling Charmy to shut up, and...yeah. So now the three were sitting in the apartment’s main room.

Being that the Chaotix were detectives, and Lila a journalist interested in reporting crime – well, they bumped heads a lot. That’s how she knew them, and how she knew they’d be the one for the job she had in mind….Or rather, the fact she bought Vector a coffee two months ago and demanded a favor in return was why she knew they’d be the one. You don’t promise Lila something and don’t go through with it, you know.

For now, Lila sipped from a lovely little teacup. Apparently, as disgruntled as Vector might’ve been, he was still intending to be a good host and made her some tea. “So,” she said plainly, “Whaddya think?”

“I think you’re in over your head.” Vector rubbed his temple, defeated. “But if you can pay, we can try and find a way to help. We’ll need the original evidence, though, and to catch this black hedgehog you’re talkin’ about...”

“Ah, you mean the footage?” asked Charmy. Vector nodded, and Lila thought for a moment.

“Yeah, we can’t really prove it’s not Sonic if we don’t have the original stuff to compare it to...” Lila nodded, “But I don’t have access to it...They showed it to me personally and then proceeded to kick me out, so...”

“So we steal it?” chimed Charmy. “Oh! Oh! I get to use a bat on the guards!”

“Charmy, we ain’t bargin’ in there!” Vector exclaimed.

“No,” came a new voice, “We don’t need to cause a scene. We shouldn’t.” Espio would slip from the shadows wearing a bathrobe. “However, you three have already caused quite a scene and disrupted my meditation….”

“Yeah, yeah, Espio. Whatever.” Lila waved him off, pretty much anything but surprised at his sudden appearance. He had a way of doing that...He’s a ninja and all, so...”But what do you suggest? Stealth?”

“I suggest you give up all together.” replied the chameleon, closing his eyes. “What would we gain from this? Meddling in personal matters...”

“This is far from personal! What, you think I’m going to put you all in danger for myself? To clear MY name?”

“Yes.”

She’s not sure she expected any other answer, but Lila grumbled, looking irritable now...But she didn’t exactly argue the point, so Espio continued.

“I want to know you’re in this for Sonic’s sake, and not your own.”

Vector and Charmy exchanged glances, then looked at Lila. They seemed pretty driven by promises of riches, but even they wanted something else from her. She sighed.

“Fine. What do I have to do to prove that I’m not being selfish right now?”

“Get the footage yourself, first off.”

“Whaaa?! I can’t do that by myself!” Lila cried, “I don’t have any stealth skills! I can’t defend myself, either! How am I supposed to do anything?”

“She does have a point, Espio...” Vector glanced at his cohort, “I think you’re askin’ a bit much...She could really get into trouble on her own, you know?”

“We can provide equipment,” Espio said, “And we can provide backup.” He narrowed his eyes at Lila. “But I don’t trust her yet.”

“Aw, Espio! We could have a job, and you’re gonna turn her down over trust?!” complained Charmy. Lila was a bit peeved about it as well, but…

If she remembered back to Chaos, and her feeling of helplessness, then this was but a small price to pay for doing something significant like saving Sonic. Even if she WAS pretty scared.

“I’ll do it.” Everyone looked to the cat as she spoke. “I want to help Sonic, and if I have to prove I’m not being selfish, I’ll do it!!”

“Are you s-” began Vector, but Lila raised a finger and shushed him.

“I’m sure.”

“All right.” Espio nodded. “We’ll track down where they’re keeping those records, and you can steal them.”

“We’ll start right away.” agreed Vector.

“Awww yeah! Time to break the law!” Thanks, Charmy.


	4. How to Hack 101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lila's getting in over her head, and her sister's starting to wonder just what's going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this is a bit too fast-paced, I wanted to post it because I'm going away the next day or so and won't be able to work on it.

Another boring day, another boring dollar by the boring hour. With a cranky wife and three kids at home, a few dollars an hour was not much of a reward if you asked him. “Him” being this random security guard that Lila was currently watching from afar and had constructed an entire life and personality for in her head. Yes, for all she knew, he wasn’t thinking about his hourly pay not being enough, and he could’ve been very content with his job. And maybe he had no wife, and no kids, or maybe he was gay...Husband and three adopted kids, then. Fine by her.

Well, this was getting her nowhere. She huffed and popped her head back into the bushes that she and the Chaotix were currently in. You’d think Vector wouldn’t fit being that he’s 6 foot something, but since he’s green he blends in perfectly. Good thing, because they wouldn’t want to insult a crocodile by saying he was blowing their cover.

“Ughhhh,” groaned Lila, “Can we get this show on the road already?! Sonic’s sitting in a jail cell right now, and all you thee can do is hack their Wi-Fi?”

“It’s not their Wi-Fi, it’s their security,” corrected Espio, “I’m attempting to crack the code that will prevent you from being shot by their automated defense system.”

“Laser beams and what have you,” explained Vector, though Lila kinda figured that without the explanation, “We don’t want you fried to a crisp here.”

“Crispy like chips!” Charmy beamed, as if this were a good thing for her to resemble.

“More like crispy like burning flesh.” Thanks Espio. He was tapping away on some sort of high tech looking laptop right now, which suddenly beeped quietly – a noise that would’ve alerted the nearby guard….If not for the power going out in the whole building he was guarding, startling him far more. Espio closed the laptop. “Got it. Let’s head in.”

“Wait, what did you do, exactly?”

“I initiated an emergency shutdown sequence. Sort of turns everything off in case the machines ever went haywire.”

“Hm. Okay. Still not thrilled about going in alone, but...” Lila HAD wondered if there was backup plans to the whole potential robots gaining sentience scenario. “What do I have to do?”

“Remember this is to save Sonic,” said Vector, “So keep yer chin up!” She would certainly do her best. “But as for what you do...Run in before the power starts back up, and hack their computers inside.”

Espio nodded. “They should still have the videos on file, unless it’s been moved to another location...” In which case they were screwed, Lila assumed. However...She clapped her hands together softly.

“Wonderful plan, gentlemen...Except for one thing. I can’t hack computers. I don’t know ANYTHING about technology, for that matter!” She frowned. “Can’t one of you come with me?”

“No can do! We have to be out here to monitor the situation.” Vector shook his head. “We’ll go in if there’s any trouble, though...”

“Which there’s bound to be!” Once more, Charmy was excited. “Do you think they’ll send in G.U.N to stop us?!”

“This isn’t a game, Charmy!” Vector looked quite frustrated with the little bee. It’s safe to say Vector wasn’t really glad he hired a six year old, but then again their missions weren’t always this stealthy…

“Awww, Vector!”

“If they catch us, we could be executed.” Espio, serious as ever – though Lila SERIOUSLY doubted they’d go that far. They COULD get thrown in jail as a genuine concept, of course, but not killed. “Now hurry, before the power comes back!”

“But wait, how do I get past the guards?! How do I hack?!”

The chameleon shook his head and handed her what resembled a….Walkie-Talkie. With every other highly advanced thing he had, you’d think he could do better than a Walkie-Talkie, but… “Take this. We’ll communicate once you get inside. Now, there’s a vent-”

“Hey! Who’s there?”

Ah, crap! The guard from before had finally noticed their bickering apparently, and was approaching the bushes...Lila was shoved out by the Chaotix before she could argue, and she was suddenly on her own.

“Ah! Sorry, sir…! I was just um...I dropped a penny and was looking for it in the bushes...”

“Miss, this is a restricted area after the burglary, and you want to tell me you dropped a penny to get here.”

Lila paused for a moment. “Okay, but consider that the penny rolled really far when I dropped it.”

“...Miss -”

Lila gasped loudly, pointing behind him. “Is that your wife?!” He looked. He must not be gay after all, and actually had a wife! Score, she learned something! Well, anyway, Lila bolted. Where to? She’d figure that out after she got there – because clearly this plan was going great, and would continue to go pretty great. No flaws at all in anyone’s thinking!

Yeah, she started running around the building pretty helplessly. But there had to be an open window somewhere..! Oh wait, Espio had mentioned a vent! Though aside from that and handing her this Walkie-Talkie, Espio had told her NOTHING of what to do! He told her to hack the computer, but certainly didn’t say HOW, and...Ah, wait, there’s the vent, and she only would have to climb a tree to reach it!

Not like she was afraid of heights or anything... She just had to avoid looking down and she’d be golden…

“Come on, come on...” She found herself panting as she dug her claws into wood and hoisted herself up, “Just a little higher...” _And whatever you do, _she added in her thoughts, _don’t think about the time you were a little kitten stuck on a really high, scary branch!_

That memory was terrifying, and by telling herself not to think about it, she ended up thinking about it, and looked down. Hugging the branch she was CURRENTLY on, she tried to catch her breath and reason with herself. She was 14. She was old enough to do this! Or maybe 14 was too young! Maybe she needed to stop this. Maybe she should leave saving Sonic to the big mobians! No, that was her fear talking! And her fear was talking very fast and very loud and VERY hard to ignore and – hoo boy. All this because she tried to climb a tree to avoid getting sent to jail herself…

Regardless, nothing would be accomplished by staying in said tree. She gulped and began hoisting herself up onto an even higher branch, now closer to the vent...And then proceeded to hug THAT branch. This was gonna take some time…

“Lila, can you hear me?” came Espio’s voice. “Have you located the vent?” Almost relieved, she held her Walkie-Talkie to her mouth, and replied.

“IdidbutIcan’tseemtogetpastthistreeandI’mveryscaredandI’dREALLYBECOOLWITHSOMEHELPRIGHTNOW-”

“Slow down. Take deep breaths. If the vent is in sight, you’re almost there.”

“EASYFORYOUTOSAY!!”

“You’re just going to draw more attention to yourself if you keep yelling.” He did have a point, but was Lila’s conscious listening? Nooooooo. Still, he continued, “Once you’re inside, I’ll help you maneuver the vents.”

“ESPIOIREALLYNEEDYOURHELP-”

_ Click_, and he was gone!

What a very sympathetic lizard. Still, eventually Lila managed to make it to the next branch; perhaps solely to spite Espio, and the cycle would repeat for a bit until reaching the vent… Now, she just had to quietly-

_ ** CLANG! CRASH! BOOM!** _

Yeah, that was pretty quiet. The vent was easy enough to get off, but boy did it make a sound going down. And BOY did she make some sounds climbing in. She was very obviously not adjusted to stealth, and if Espio hadn’t shut off the power before now...There would’ve been some issues to say the least.

Maybe the chameleon was good for something after all. Regardless, Lila now made her way through the vents, internally complaining about how many spiderwebs there were.

……………….

………………………

…………………………….

In other news, it seemed Lila’s sister was not having anymore fun than she was. No, Rosi was quite miserable right now. After having been hung up on, she’d sorta gotten quite angry at Lila, yes...But right now, she was worried for her sister’s safety….And angry about being worried, too.

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Rosi was saying on the phone, “But I’m so sick of her pulling stunts like this! She gets into trouble, and then worries us all while she tries to get OUT of trouble!”

“Yeah, sounds rough,” replied the voice on the phone, sounding totally uninterested in her personal issues. “So where did you say her last whereabouts were, Ma’am?”

“Ah, right.” Rosi sighed, “They last saw her near an apartment complex, I hear. I don’t have the name or address, but I can tell you I know who lives there.”

“Oh? Can you tell me the names?”

“Yeah. Espio the Chameleon, Charmy Bee, and Vector the Crocodile. They call themselves the Chaotix Detective Agency...Or CDA for short.”

“Ah, I see...We’ll try to contact them right away.”

“Thank you.”

With no more information to give, Rosi hung up. She frowned, rubbing her temple, and glanced at the newspaper from the day before – the article Lila had written...Man, this was all so twisted…

Deciding to try and relax a little, she turned on her television and settled in for the night. Ugh, the channel was initially the news...But before she could actually change it, maybe to some sitcom or something…

“...Prison Island Explosion, injuring many...”

Rosi blinked. She hesitantly put the remote down and watched...

“While this was a top secret military island unknown to the public before this afternoon, word quickly got out as its debris and smoke spread to several nearing islands. The place is still engulfed in flames to this evening, as you can see, and….”

…Was this anything to do with Sonic or Lila? More likely Sonic, but…Did he escape, then? How? Or was he caught in the explosion? Again, was Lila involved in any way? Her sister did have a tendency to get mixed up in very bad situations…But this…

Who would go this far?

A phone call, however, pulled her from her thoughts once more. She picked it up, and…

“Miss Rosi?”

“Speaking.”

“We attempted to contact the Chaotix. There is currently nobody home.”

“I see...” Rosi frowned. “Thank you.”

“Is there any other leads you might have, Ma’am?”

“No, none.”

“I see. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“Of course. If anything changes I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you Ma’am.”

Letting her hand and the phone she grasped fall to her side, Rosi stared at the television...She couldn’t help but wonder how big and bad all this was gonna get – and all because of Lila’s one article…

No. There had to be more to it, right? There was no way Lila’s article led to an explosion at some previously-top-secret military base unless Sonic himself had blown it up to escape...Something Rosi knew he would never do...Maybe there was some other force at work here? And...There was also the fact, Rosi would note, that while she knew of Sonic’s innocence – someone DID steal the emerald...But who?

And did they intentionally frame Sonic?

However, while Rosi thought...The news channel would change quite drastically – broadcasting something very different…And pretty much answered a _lot _of Rosi’s questions when the fat red man appeared on the screen addressing the citizens of Earth.


	5. Find the Computer Room!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mission to retrieve the video files fails, and a new mission begins...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My writing is starting to lack with these chapters, and I'm hoping they'll get a little better after this chapter as we get back to the SA2 plot.

“Lila, did you make it inside?”

Espio’s voice startled Lila, as he had gone silent for quite a while after hanging up. Maybe he’d been giving her time to calm down..Or expected her to run scared. Either way, she was totally lost somewhere in the ventilation shafts, and anything except calm.

“Yeah, a while ago, buddy.” She grumbled, glancing around (not that there was much to see except dust). “You gonna tell me what to do?”

“Yes. Find the shaft that leads to the main computer room.”

“Okay...Find the computer room...And just how do I find it? Oh, wait...” She peered into an opening in the vents – you know, like the one she came in through. Except this was on the ceiling below her, which Lila thought was mildly humorous to think about considering most ceilings were above people. But maybe that wasn’t true in the case of two story buildings where the ceiling became the floor and that floor’s ceiling became the next floor’s floor and…

“Lila, are you there?”

“Eh? Uh, yeah.” Lila blinked. Yeah, she wasn’t calm at all if her thoughts were bouncing around like this. “Anyway, I think I found it.”

“What? Are you sure?”

“Absolutely not, but I’m tired of spiders.” Before Espio could argue, she shoved the Walkie-Talkie away and started to mess with the metal vent standing between her and what she could only hope was the room she wanted.

With more clanging and banging, she made it inside. Really, if this had been the room, she would’ve expected a lot of security guards and whatnot. But as dimly lit as it was, it was empty – but that did resemble the shape of a big computer over there.

She figured it couldn’t hurt to try – though she was unsure how she was supposed to hack anything while the power was out...Unless Espio had a way of doing it while it was off…

Ah, no. There was a whir and some blinking, and the power had returned. She peered around. Seemed like there wasn’t any lasers in this room to worry about. “All right,” she mumbled to herself as she approached the computer – which, yes, did turn out to be an actual computer when the lights came on – and spoke into her Walkie-Talkie.

“Espio, are you gonna tell me how to hack now?”

………………..No reply.

“Espio?”

Was he even there?

“H..Hello? I swear to Chaos if you guys ditched me...”

She held it to her ear a bit longer, hoping, but the only thing that started to emit was white noise. Was there interference? She bit her lip...Guess she was on her own now, huh? That couldn’t be good for anyone.

First thing is first – turn the computer on. It seemed to need a password to get past that, though...So she did what any skilled hacker would do and began trying random passwords!

“Password!” No, that’d be stupid as a password….

“This is not a password!” That’d be a little less stupid to use...

“Three, Two, Nine!” Those were random numbers.

“Aunt Betty’s Special Oatmeal!” She didn’t even know anyone named Betty and she hated oatmeal.

“Hmm…What kind of password would they use for a highly secured network like this…?” She mused…”Maybe something related to the government?”

“Mr. President!”

That didn’t work either, and she was running out of ideas...This wasn’t going well. She really needed Espio’s help here…

And then, just as she was about to give up, an image appeared on the screen. She stumbled back in surprise, giving a shout as the villain showed himself. Was this a direct message to her?

No, it seemed to be broadcasting to general electronics; and Lila wondered how wide a range the signal was…Local? Nationwide? Or could it be ….

_ Global?_

Indeed, Doctor Eggman’s laughter echoed through the world, showing his image on millions of televisions and other devices. People everywhere gasped – staring up at the man on the screen in shock, horror, and confusion. In Lila’s case, her fists clenched, and she was filled with anger.

This guy was the reason Chaos had ever happened, after all. The reason she’d really pursued becoming a journalist. The reason she had blamed Sonic. The reason she had to help Sonic.

“Citizens of Earth,” came the strangely shaped man’s voice, “Lend me your ears and listen carefully! I am Doctor Robotnik, more commonly known as _Doctor __Eggman_...I am the world’s greatest scientist, and soon to be the world’s greatest _ruler!_ Now, witness the beginning of the greatest empire of all time!_”_

Lila wasn’t quite sure what to expect after that. She wasn’t sure what to expect after being told to ‘witness’ a nightmare...What exactly was he going to do now? He’d already tried this plenty of times before, after all….How could it get any worse than his previous plans?

“Lila,” Just then, she heard her Walkie-Talkie buzzing to life. “Lila, do you copy? Something is going on out -”

A deafening noise from the skies above drowned Espio out. Visualized on the screen was a depiction of an asteroid breaking open – revealing some sort of weapon…And it looked quite like it was charging up.

Oh no.

Soon, she didn’t have to wonder what it was for, though. It fired fast, and directly...Right into the moon. She may have been inside and unable to see the damage in person yet... but this video was more than enough for her.

Or maybe it wasn’t. No, it definitely wasn’t. She heard footsteps running outside, indicating the arrival of guards. And by golly, guards be damned. Lila rushed out the door before they could fight her. What she had just seen had to have been done with some sort of special effects. A scare tactic! Forget the video she was after – she had to verify THIS video.

Security, of course, had reactivated wth the power. Diving up and over lasers like it was nobody’s business, Lila made it to a window – slamming her hands against the glass and peering out with horror. That was no special effects...Half the moon was gone. Entirely.

Breathing heavily, Lila knew this was no longer just her article causing her personal stress and grief. By putting Sonic in prison, she had left the world open to attack from cruel people like Eggman. She was running out of time. She’d have to prove Sonic’s innocence with more than fancy legal loopholes and “evidence” and court sessions that could drag on for months.

But how? Her eyes narrowed, and she knew exactly how...

“Lila,” She had forgotten about the Walkie-Talkie, and stared at it as Espio spoke once more. “What’s going on in there?”

She looked back. Guards were closing in. “Nothing good,” she stated plainly. But she wasn’t going to get captured here. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”

“_You’ll _handle…?”

“Yes! I’m tired of you putting me down! Just shut up and let me handle it!!” Not wanting to let him finish, Lila threw the Walkie-Talkie right at one of the approaching members of security. In retrospect, stupid idea, but with how frustrated she was it smashed into his face surprisingly well, and startled the other one to watch this little feline take down a 6’2 foot buff man.

“Sorry! But you’re in my way!” Lila bared her claws, speeding towards the man and slicing his pant leg as she ran past. With a yelp of pain, he fell too. “Don’t worry, I trimmed these the other day! No stitches needed!”

However, as she approached the exit, three more officers clad in blue showed up. She tried to run past, but was caught by the tail – and went totally limp, too. “WAH!” She cried, apparently only able to use her mouth at this point. “LET GO!”

“We’re taking you into custody.” _Something about that voice..._

“Yeah! Custody!” _Wait a second.._

“Layin’ down the law!” _Hey!_

Lila hissed. “Okay, now you dummies REALLY better let me go.”

“Why should we me?” The purple chameleon closed his eyes, lowering his hat over his face, though it was clear he was hiding a smirk. “Give us a good reason.”

“Because you’re not security guards!”

“Not good enough!” Charmy wagged his finger.

Lila sighed, grumbling her next reply. “Because you’re all going to get into trouble if you hang around here! And it’ll be because of me and I won’t feel good and neither will you three!”

“Not quite the answer we were lookin’ for,” admitted Vector, letting go of her tail, “But it’ll do.”

“We were hoping to get you on your knees begging for forgiveness, or to say you needed to save Sonic…” Espio apparently had a cruel streak going here, “But it seems you learned something anyway.”

“Hmph.” Lila crossed her arms, now getting feeling back in her muscles and sitting on the floor. “But you guys really do need to get out of here.”

“Indeed we do. And you’re comin’ with us.” Vector patted her head, and then the three started for the door. Lila paused, however.

“……….No.”

They stopped now and looked back. “Whaddya mean?” asked Charmy, looking the most confused.

“I’m not gonna involve you guys further.” Lila shook her head. “I’m gonna get to the bottom of this by myself.”

“Why’s that?” Espio hummed, “Are you planning to stop the doctor?”

“Yes! Sonic can’t, so I will!”

“That’s crazy talk,” Vector frowned. “How are you gonna somethin’ like that?”

“I don’t know yet,” she admitted, “But I’ll figure something good out. For now, you three go home...”

“……….That would be quite selfish of us,” Espio glanced at his cohorts, who had actually looked quite ready to head home at her offer. “I think we can drop you off somewhere to get you started, at least.”

“……….You’re not half bad, Espio,” Lila smiled a little awkwardly, “Thank you. All of you.”

“Save the thanks for after we know we aren’t sending you to certain doom.” Morbid as always, Espio.

“Doom! DOOOOOM!”

“Can it, Charmy.” Vector pushed the six year old aside. “Anyhoo, Lila...We oughta get moving if we want to catch up with Tails.”

Lila blinked. “Tails?” He was still on Sonic’s side too? Of course he was...He had said he was Sonic’s best friend after all...

“We saw him fightin’ G.U.N bots shortly after the moon got blasted,” explained Vector. “So we can drop you off there and you can follow his trail.”

The feline beamed. “Well then, let’s get to it! And before Eggman fires anything ELSE with that laser!”


End file.
